


Moments Like This

by blynninja



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Ballet, Ballet AU, F/M, Gen, On Pointe made me do it, Other, References to The Nutcracker, school of american ballet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:48:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29708403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blynninja/pseuds/blynninja
Summary: If Hak and Yona went to School of American Ballet in NY.(I watched On Pointe a few months ago and couldn't get the idea of Ballerina!Yona out of my head. Hak came along for the ride.)
Relationships: eventual son hak/yona
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. We Come Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Beginnings.

When Yona is in kindergarten, her father takes her to see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, and she falls in love with the beauty and the grace and the precision of the ballerina who portrays the Sugarplum Fairy.

She begins attending classes at the School of American Ballet the next year, her mother and her nanny helping her navigate first grade at regular school with twice-a-week classes at SAB that increase as she gets older.

When she’s eight, she’s chosen to play an angel in that year’s Nutcracker performance, and it’s the biggest moment of her life so far, to be on that stage with those eleven other girls, in front of all of those people.

The next year, they cast her as one of the little dolls and a mouse, and that’s a different feeling altogether, to be under a giant skirt and wearing a giant mouse head for what feels like forever.

When she’s ten, they choose her for Marie, and it’s the most terrifying, thrilling, humbling experience.

The boy who plays the Prince and the Nutcracker, Hak, has also been in several performances, and he has plenty of advice for her and the boy who plays Fritz, Marie’s little brother. 

It’s helpful to be in the show with other children who have also been in it before, in multiple roles, so that they can share experiences and thoughts and help each other correct timing just like they do in class.

The 25 shows, split between two groups of children, go so quickly that Yona hardly has time to be nervous about anything except opening night. After that, it all seems so easy.

\--

Hak is six when his grandfather takes him and his cousins to a School of American Ballet demonstration thing.

He doesn’t even want to go, but his cousins all seem interested, and his grandfather insists that Hak tag along, so he does.

And he enjoys it much more than he thought he would.

He enjoys it so much that he asks Mundok if he can go to SAB. Just for one class a week. Just for a little while.

It turns into three times a week with his cousin Han-dae, and they bore Tae-woo half to death with the new positions they’re learning and steps they’re practicing at home.

When Hak is nine and Han-dae eight, they get cast as soldiers in The Nutcracker, and they’re thrilled.

The next year, Han-dae is picked, but Hak isn’t, and he tries not to let it bother him.

When he’s eleven, they pick him to play Fritz, and he doesn’t have a whole lot of trouble playing the annoying little brother, even though he’s technically an only child and the oldest of his cousins. He’s got two annoying younger cousins, which helps him play the part.

When he’s twelve, they cast him as the Prince, and he’s pretty sure it’s going to be his last show. He’s almost too tall this year, but next year he certainly will be, so he’s determined to make this the best show ever.

The little girl who plays Marie—Yona—has been in two shows, and they might cast her as something again next year, ‘cause she doesn’t seem like she’s gonna grow much between now and then. But playing Marie is a big deal, so Hak helps her remember steps and gives her suggestions on how to make her expressions big enough that the entire audience will understand them.

The boy who plays Fritz this year, Yoon, seems way too serious to play an annoying little brother, but Hak’s impressed with his determination.

The show goes so well that Hak cries after the closing curtain, but he pretends he’s got something in his eye, instead.

Yona and Yoon are smart, though. Yoon hands Hak a tissue and Yona smiles through her own tears and squeezes his hand before they head home for the night.


	2. This Is The Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hak and Yona grow up a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Titles from Moments Like This by The Afters)

Hak sees more of Yona after his last Nutcracker. Their class times start overlapping more, so they do homework before ballet and wait for their guardians together after. He gets to keep calling her ‘Princess,’ which she whines about but doesn’t make him stop.

Yona starts sharing her snacks with him, insisting that he take them because she has extra and he has a longer trip home than she does.

(Hak’s not stupid. He knows she’s figured out that it’s a financial sacrifice for Mundok to send him and Han-dae to ballet so often. What might seem like a little thing to her is a big deal to him.)

When Hak is fourteen and Yona twelve, Gramps moves them a little closer to SAB so Hak and Han-dae can dedicate more time to ballet. They’re closer to Yona’s apartment, a few blocks apart, so Hak starts offering to walk home with her. Her parents aren’t sure at first, but after a couple of weeks of making the short commute with them, they let him and Yona walk it alone.

More often than not, her father invites him to stay for dinner, and Hak’s pretty sure Mr. Hiryuu has figured it out, or Yona’s told him. It’s never Hak’s intention to intrude on their family meals, but Mr. Hiryuu insists, and Mrs. Hiryuu always has the table set for four by the time he gets Yona home, so how can he say no?

It becomes routine, walking home with her, staying for dinner (sometimes showing off the new steps he’s learning and sometimes helping Yona with homework, or both), and then walking the few blocks home with the promise of being safe and getting enough sleep.

Their apartment isn’t real big, but Han-dae and Tae-woo don’t mind sharing a room, and Hak gets used to having his own room, even if it’s smaller than some of his friends’. He’s just glad that Mundok trusts him with the responsibility of taking care of his own small space.

\--

It’s probably the dream of every little girl at SAB to one day dance as the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker.

Yona is one of those little girls.

After her time as Marie (the photos of her and Hak and Yoon taking up a prominent spot on her bedroom wall), Yona is determined to do everything she can to dance as a principal in the show.

That, of course, means that she’ll need an apprenticeship and a job at a Company: New York City Ballet, preferably.

Yona works terrifically hard those next few years, keeping up with schoolwork and dance classes. She fills what free time she has with ballet: watching videos, practicing alone in her room, practicing with Hak and Han-dae when they visit on days off of class. Hak teaches her the steps he’s learning in his classes, and her teachers are a little confused but also impressed with her determination to learn ahead of her peers.

She’s so excited for Hak when he gets an apprenticeship for his senior year at SAB. She hugs him and cries and demands that he keep teaching her what he’s learning from the experience.

Her parents die in an accident that year, and Hak almost puts his apprenticeship on hold, but Yona insists that he go. SAB allows her to move into the dorms, providing scholarships and work study to help her continue her classes. She learns to live with roommates and makes new friends who help her with homework and steps and keeping her body and spirit strong.

Hak’s still with NYC Ballet when she gets her own apprenticeship at the end of her senior year, and the hug she gives him then is shaky with nerves. He only chuckles at her, ruffling her hair and calling her ‘Princess’ like he has since she was ten, and it grounds her enough that the nervous jitters subside. Mostly.

They can’t stick together as much at the Company as they had growing up, which Yona had known from the moment Hak began his apprenticeship, but knowing that he’s there is calming enough.

Her apprenticeship goes so well that they offer her a spot in the Company and she nearly collapses with joy.

Hak is right there to keep her upright.

She spends a year learning her way around and building new friendships, always keeping the dream from childhood in the front of her mind as she dances in other shows—sometimes with Hak, and sometimes with her other friends and colleagues.

Her dream comes true that next winter when they choose her to be the Sugarplum Fairy, and Yona only wishes her parents were still around to see it in person. But they’ll be there, watching over her, and she’s got Hak’s family to cheer her on. It’s not exactly the same, but their enthusiasm is contagious, and Yona can’t help but smile every night she finds them in the audience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was watching On Pointe back...whenever? I was struck by the differences in family structures and stuff. I wanted to touch on that here, too, with one family having relatively easy access to classes and one having to work a little harder for it but deeming it worth the sacrifice.
> 
> (It feels like a lot of us have this sort of headcanon for Hak and Yona, but I'm definitely swiping a little inspo from LightBloom's [Self-Improvement](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25210978/chapters/61106539) fic for one. Resemblances to other fics are also probably mildly intentional, I just can't name them all off the top of my head like this one.)


	3. Like A Dream Coming To Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nutcracker comes to a close, and Hak and Yona catch up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated breaking this into two separate chapters because of the length of Yona's perspective, but in my head they make sense this way. After this chapter I'll probably break the rest up, but this one is staying together.

Zeno’s still here, the old Candy Cane man looking exactly the same as he had in Hak’s three shows as a kid. Hak doesn’t even bother asking how the man hasn’t aged a day in what must be over a decade.

Yoon’s here behind the scenes somewhere, having decided he’s better with lighting cues and the production side of things than dance. But his time as Fritz and a few other roles in the years since have made him really good at hitting technical cues, Hak notes. (That and Yoon’s perfectionist nature. He gets so upset when things are off by even a second, which always makes Hak laugh. He can always tell when someone besides Yoon is running things.)

Yona is perfect as the Sugarplum Fairy, graceful and poised and such a vision that Hak can hardly keep his eyes off of her. Which is a problem when he’s supposed to be helping backstage when he’s not in costume.

When the show is over for the season, on closing night, he insists on walking her home. 

Yona is quiet for the first part of their journey, watching the snow fall and looping her arm through his with a quick smile when he glances down at her.

“Do you think they’ll keep us on after this year?”

Hak pauses, raising an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t they?”

Yona shrugs. “It almost feels too good to be true, you know?”

“They’ve kept me the last couple years,” Hak shrugs back. “They’d be stupid not to keep you.”

Yona blinks up at him, her cheeks turning a pink that matches the tip of her nose.

“You have more time on-stage than I do,” she says quietly, her gaze dropping to the ground, and Hak catches her chin so she’ll meet his eyes.

“You have a heck of a lot more talent than I do,” he assures her, watching her eyes go wide.

“But—”

Hak presses his thumb over Yona’s lips, halting her argument and watching her blush grow darker.

“But nothin’,” he replies, his gaze steady. “You light up that stage, and it lights you up. They obviously see it, to have cast you the way they did this year.”

Yona’s eyes go wide and she stammers for a moment, obviously at a loss for words. Hak grins.

She’s always been more talented than him, natural at things he’s always had to work a little harder at. It’s one of the reasons he’d gravitated to her when they were kids, he’s realized over the years. 

She’s still fun to tease, but since her parents’ deaths, Hak has tried to tone down the teasing. It just feels different, making fun of her when she’s got nobody but her roommates to whine to.

He still doesn’t miss the opportunities she presents him with. Sometimes she leaves herself open for jokes and how can he not?

But the look on her face when he compliments her, like he has tonight, is way more adorable than her pout when he teases her. Much more satisfying, he notes as he watches her blink at him as they continue walking.

\--

Hak walks her home, just like he had when they were children, and Yona can’t stop smiling at the memories.

He’d been so sweet then, so determined to make sure she got home safely. And her parents had always insisted he stay for dinner as a way to say thank you for caring for her.

(She’s also aware that they wanted to make sure that Hak’s grandfather didn’t have to feed so many boys a few nights each week, especially with two growing dancers in the family. And she’s pretty sure Hak knew it, too, but he’d never said anything, so neither had she.)

The nostalgia must be the reason she blurts, “Do you want to come in for—um—cocoa or something?” as soon as they reach her apartment door.

Her roommates are out for the evening, may even be staying with friends for all she knows, and the idea of being alone in her apartment isn’t entirely appealing. Hak has always been good company, so the suggestion makes sense.

He blinks at her, surprise crossing his face, quickly replaced by a pleased smile.

“Sure. I’d like that.”

Yona fumbles with her key just briefly, his smile catching her off-guard, but she manages the door anyway and smiles right back.

“Come on in. Hopefully it’s not a disaster…” she mutters, more to herself than Hak, but he chuckles as he closes the door behind himself while she toes off her shoes and sheds her coat.

“I still live at home with Han-dae and Tea-woo. I’m pretty sure I can handle whatever your version of ‘disaster’ is.”

“You might be surprised,” Yona warns, raising an eyebrow and heading straight for the small kitchen, where her roommates have each left a coffee mug in the sink, but thankfully nothing else.

A cursory scan of the living room proves promising, though she can’t see the couch from this angle. It’s very possible that the girls may have left sweaters or purses laying around, but hopefully the mess of getting ready had been contained within their bedrooms tonight.

Yona busies herself pulling clean mugs and cocoa ingredients from cabinets and flipping on a burner as she fills the tea kettle. Brief glances toward the living room prove that Hak is curious about her current living situation, inspecting bookshelves and the photographs on the walls. After a few minutes, he joins her in the kitchen, leaning easily against the counter.

“Where are the girls tonight?”

Yona shrugs. “Out celebrating the end of the show. They invited me to go with them, but I didn’t really feel like it. What about your family? Are your cousins not doing anything on closing night to celebrate with you?”

Hak shrugs. “Nah. We’ll probably go out to dinner next week or something, when we all actually have time.”

Yona nods absently and flips off the burner as the kettle whistles, nudging the cocoa powder toward Hak.

As he stirs his mug, Hak nods toward the living room. “It’s the four of you still, right?”

“Mmhm. Lili, Ayura, and Tetora invited me to live with them again after our apprenticeships, and I thought it might feel a little like my time in the dorm, so I said yes,” Yona replies as they make their way to the couch, settling on either end. She shifts so she can still look at Hak, and he glances at the photos again.

“I didn’t see them dancing this year,” he comments, and Yona shrugs.

“They said they wanted to try backstage roles this year, and Gigan agreed to let them.”

Hak nods around a sip of cocoa and Yona settles further into the couch, watching him.

“Do you remember—” she begins, and Hak nods. 

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask!” she protests, amused, and he meets her eyes with a grin.

“I remember everything about you and ballet,” he assures her, and Yona pauses, frowning slightly.

“Try me,” Hak shrugs, holding her gaze, so she does.

“Do you remember the first time you called me that stupid nickname?”

(It is, admittedly, not stupid. And the moment is seared into her brain. It’s kind of a stupid question.)

Hak’s grin morphs into one that could rival the Cheshire Cat and Yona almost throws a pillow at him.

“Do I remember the first time I called you ‘princess’?” He sounds offended that she’d question his memory on such a moment in their friendship. Typical Hak.

“ _Of course_ I remember the first time I called you ‘princess,’ Princess,” Hak begins, and Yona prepares for a story, sipping her cocoa. 

“It was the first day of Nutcracker rehearsals and you were Marie, which kind of made you a princess in the show,” Hak says, a sparkle in his eyes, “but you also said something about a nanny coming to pick you up that day because your mom couldn’t and I assumed you must be rich and spoiled. So I called you ‘Princess,’ but I made it sound like it was because of Nutcracker.”

Yona blinks. “Did I tell you about my nanny?”

Hak tilts his head, an incredulous look on his face. “Of course you did. And she came to pick you up after rehearsal, just like you said.”

“Huh.”

“How do you not remember that?” Hak asks, amused, and Yona makes a face at him.

“Apparently my memory isn’t as good as yours, Your Highness.”

“Are you referring to the prince or the king?” he grins, shifting to lean closer.

“Why would I be referring to the villain?” Yona asks, frowning playfully. The Rat King had been an interesting casting decision, for sure, but Hak plays it well.

His eyebrows rise for just a moment before he laughs. “Well, I’m glad you prefer me as the good guy.”

“You’ve always been the good guy,” she informs him without thinking, and Hak’s fingers twitch around his mug.

“Have I?” There’s a softness to his tone that she hasn’t heard in a while, and Yona blinks.

“Of course. Why else would you have walked me home tonight just like when we were kids?”

Could there be another reason? She’s not sure she wants to know.

“What if I’d had ulterior motives?” Hak asks, setting his cocoa aside without breaking eye contact.

“Like what? Befriending me and waiting a decade to do something dastardly?” The thought makes Yona scoff and Hak’s eyes narrow briefly.

“You don’t think I’m capable of playing the long game?” he asks, still leaning close, and Yona doesn’t even flinch.

“Not as the bad guy,” she shrugs, holding his gaze.

He’s never been the bad guy, no matter how much he’d played at it as a kid.

“You almost put your apprenticeship on hold for me,” she reminds him, frowning at the memory. “And you were ready to give up your bedroom for me and squish into a room with your cousins until Gigan told me I could live in the dorms.”

Hak stays quiet, watching her carefully, and Yona lets herself memorize this look on his face, finally putting the pieces together.

“You, Son Hak,” she whispers despite the emptiness of her apartment, “are definitely one of the good guys.”

When he blinks at her, she adds impulsively, “You will always be my Prince.”

The change in the room is almost immediate. Hak’s hands land at her sides, caging her to the couch, and he practically chokes, “You sure about that, Princess?”

Yona lets herself shift just a fraction closer, the hand not holding her cocoa rising to press over Hak’s heart.

“You need me to prove it to you?”

Hak swallows, and it’s the only moment Yona has to breathe before he closes the distance between them. She stifles a squeak as her mug shifts between them.

Hak doesn’t even break the kiss as he shifts one hand to pluck the cup from her grasp, his arm reaching the coffee table and then coming back to cup her cheek with careful fingers.

Yona hums at the contact, her fingers tangling into the fabric of Hak’s shirt as he leans closer still, his lips curving into a smile.

She doesn’t protest as he leans back, pulling her onto his lap with a chuckle. She slides her hands up his chest, one clutching at his neck as the other winds into his hair, a laugh rushing out of her as Hak makes a startled noise.

He doesn’t complain, though, his hands roaming her torso in a way that has her trembling with laughter and her toes curling against his legs.

Yona’s phone dings from her purse but she ignores it, taking advantage of Hak’s pause to deepen the kiss, enjoying the way he goes practically limp against her.

Before long, though ( _Too soon_ , she thinks vaguely), his body goes tense and his fingers fly to her shoulders, a panicked look on his face as he pushes her away.

“What—?” is all Yona gets out before her apartment door clicks open and she freezes, flushing.

Neither of them move as Lili calls out, “Yona? Whose shoes—oh!”

Yona’s pretty sure Lili’s eyes are as wide as her own for just a moment before her roommate smirks at her from the living room archway.

“Hi, Hak,” Lili says knowingly, and Hak’s head falls backward a little to glance at her, a blush on his face.

“Lili.”

“Yona, you should’ve texted,” Lili chides with a grin. “I’d have waited to come home.”

Yona’s eyes go wider still and she scrambles off of Hak, yelping, “No, it’s not—he walked me home and we—I didn’t plan to—”

Hak sits back up properly, his hand covering her mouth as he regards Lili carefully.

“Finally figured it out, huh?” Lili asks, and Yona squeaks behind Hak’s hand as he shrugs. 

“I did. I was waiting on her.”

Lili rolls her eyes as she sets down her purse. “Ever the prince charming.”

Yona frowns at that, curious, and Lili throws her a look.

“So, are you staying, or can I have my couch back?” Lili asks, one eyebrow arcing carefully.

Yona doesn’t think it’s possible for her face to get any redder as Hak moves to stand, assuring Lili, “I should head out. I’m sure my grandfather will be texting me to see where I am soon, anyway.”

What? Oh. That makes sense. He should go.

Lili shrugs, skirting around the couch toward the room she and Yona share. “I’ll let you say good night without an audience.”

“Lili!” Yona hisses, embarrassed, but Hak just nods. 

“Nice to see you, Lili.”

“Good night, Hak,” Lili grins as she closes the bedroom door most of the way, though Yona’s sure she’d be peeking anyway if the door were closed all the way.

Hak finally drops his hand and Yona brings her hands to her face, trying to hide.

“I am _so sorry_. I didn’t think she’d be home tonight, and I didn’t—”

“Yona,” Hak interrupts, amusement in his tone as she drops her hands and peers at him.

“I didn’t intend to get so carried away, either,” he assures her, nodding to their mugs. “I just… You surprised me, that’s all.”

Yona sighs, unsure how to reply to that, and jumps when Hak’s fingers land at her cheek.

“I really should get home. Gramps will probably be annoyed that I didn’t tell him where I was going tonight.”

Yona nods, not daring to look him in the eye, and his fingers shift as he leans into her space to press a gentle kiss to her cheek.

“Good night, Princess,” he whispers, smiling warmly, and Yona blinks at him.

Hesitantly, she reaches for his shirt, holding him close long enough to ask, “Text me when you get home?”

“Safe and sound, just like always,” Hak promises, pressing his lips to her forehead before he steps away to gather his coat and shoes.

Yona lets him out of the apartment without a word, just an embarrassed smile as he rolls his eyes at her, smiling genuinely.

Lili is waiting for her by the time she heads back to the living room, startled to find that her roommate has already cleaned up their cocoa mugs, a smug smile on her face.

All Yona wants to do is fall into bed, but of course Lili isn’t going to allow it. Yona settles for flopping onto the couch, shoving down the tingling feelings that threaten to distract her again.

“So,” her friend begins, buzzing with excitement. “Tell! Me! Everything!”

Yona groans, running a hand through her hair. “He walked me home and I invited him up for cocoa!”

“And he convinced you to drink yours out of his mouth?” Lili laughs as Yona yelps, hiding her face in her hands.

_“No!”_ she wails, glaring weakly through her fingers. “We were talking about growing up together and being in Nutcracker and…”

Lili watches her expectantly and Yona blurts, “He basically confessed to waiting for me since we were kids and I just… I sort of dared him to kiss me?” She winces, ducking her head as she waits.

Lili’s eyes go wide. “What did you _say_?”

Yona wants the couch to swallow her. “I told him he’s always been my prince, and when he asked if I was sure, I asked if I had to prove it to him,” she says, cringing as Lili squeals.

“And then he kissed me.” The memory makes her toes all tingly again.

Lili almost looks disappointed at that revelation, but grins all the same.

“I KNEW you liked each other! I’ve been waiting _years_ for the two of you to stop being idiots! And all it took was _hot cocoa_ and _small talk_?!” Lili sounds annoyed that she’d never thought to try such a thing.

Yona groans. “He was _so_ charming, Lili! Why does he always know exactly what to say?”

Her roommate laughs and assures her, “He didn’t look like he knew what to say when I found you straddling him!”

Lili’s always had an uninhibited way with words like that. Yona can’t bear any more.

“He pulled me on top of him! What was I supposed to do? Run away?”

Lili waves a hand as she catches her breath, insisting, “I’m just glad I walked in when I did. Things might have been even more awkward if I’d waited a few more minutes.”

It takes a solid ten seconds for Yona to comprehend Lili’s thought process and she shrieks, covering her face again. “Lili! He wouldn’t have—”

“You don’t think?” Lili asks, laughter mostly gone. “That man has been pining after you since before I met him. If you’d been alone for five more minutes, he’d have had his hands in yo—”

“LILI!” Yona yelps, her face as red as her hair. “Hak isn’t—he wouldn’t have—I can’t believe you!”

As if saving her from her current conversation, Yona’s phone dings again and she lunges for her purse, ignoring Lili’s smirk.

“Is that Prince Charming assuring you he’s home and can’t wait to see you again?”

“Shut up,” Yona hisses as she reads and rereads the message.

Lili’s not exactly wrong, and she seems to sense it, traipsing over to pluck the phone from Yona’s fingers.

“Hey!”

**“Gramps gave me an earful about not calling to say I’d be later than usual. _Worth it,_** ” Lili reads out loud, her eyebrows rising with the inflection on the last two words, and she hands the phone back slowly, even more smug.

The phone goes off again and Yona finds another message popping up under the first.

**Not sure if that counts as ‘safe and sound,’ but I’m alive. Going to kick the idiots out of my room and go to bed.**

Yona chuckles at that last part and types back: _Sweet dreams, Prince Hak._

Before she can even decide if that was too much, her phone buzzes again.

**Visions of sugarplums, I’m sure.**

There’s even a ballerina emoji!

She can picture his smile and the blush starts up again as Lili peeks over her shoulder.

Her roommate just laughs as Yona sighs and sinks back into the couch.

“You’d better give me advanced warning if he comes over again so I can make sure the rest of us aren’t home!” Lili calls from their room, and Yona groans.

She’s never going to live this evening down.

Maybe it’s worth it, she muses as she remembers Hak’s grin as he’d left the apartment.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know much about ballet except for what I learn from TV and the internet. But I think it's pretty, and sometimes I wish I'd stuck with dance lessons when I was in elementary school. This is me living vicariously through fictional characters, I guess.


End file.
